There’s a lot of respect for the Open Room lads, not least for landing the job of opening for Delays but for doing it justice. Sounding out electronic beats immersed in indie, they’re not unlike the headliners, but could be easily patched as a smartly dressed Enter Shikari. They’re a youthful group but boast some […]
It’s been ages since I’ve been to The Joiners. The winter period tends to bring an increase in arena-sized gigs and a decrease in small venue tours, and this little place is a pleasant change from the grandeur of my recent visits to Brighton Centre and Bournemouth BIC. The initial instinct is to hang around […]
Collated by Oliver Grey, ‘Access One Step’ is a historical record, not so much of The Joiners Arms, but of the people that turned a dingy pub with sticky floors into something of a national treasure. Personal testimonies and anecdotes from musicians, promoters, former land-lords and local-heroes make up the majority of the chapters with […]
Chin Music drew a respectable crowd and chose a high-speed exciting song, reminiscent of My Chemical Romance, to open with. The subsequent ‘Silence Is Everything’ alternated melodic and angry guitars and demonstrated that, although the band are capable of producing complex, layered songs, the singer’s voice doesn’t quite match the band’s sound. He seems to […]
There may well be more female fronted bands out there today than ever, but many of these seem no more than your generic indie boy band, with the female presence being purely incidental. Of course, there is nothing wrong with that, but the beguilingly beautiful vocals of Howling Bells’ Juanita Stein make the band really […]
Sometimes life is slow and boring and other times it’s fast and tiring. When it’s slow and boring you wish it was faster, and when it’s faster you’re so bloody knackered you wish it was slower so you could get some damn sleep. On this occasion however, I was glad to wear myself out on […]
Having initially completely forgotten about The Rebs gig tonight I was planning on spending the evening… well… drinking. As it turns out they are on first at The Joiners tonight, allowing me to squeeze in more than a few bevvies having seen them strut their stuff. Having convinced a mate of mine to tag along […]
I didn’t know it, but I was in for a very mixed bag at The Joiners. I had turned up in all innocence not even aware of the full line up for the evening and, to a certain extent, I had almost convinced myself of a night stuffed to bursting with electronica. This wasn’t to […]
Pitching up at the request of Kyoto I rush into The Joiners hoping and praying that I haven’t missed their set. Other than the fact that these guys are playing tonight I know nothing of the evening, such is the organisation by which my everyday life is led. The guy on the door doesn’t have […]
Tonight’s gig is one that I have been looking forward to for quite some time. Dead Dead Dead are one of those bands that I hear a lot about but never actually get around to checking out. Judging by the amount of support bands (there are three) as well as spectators gulping down the drink […]
Confronted by a full-on energetic atmosphere at The Joiners, I found myself awaiting the great line up for the night. This included Black Andrew, Hooker, Elusion and Sion who all seemed to kick the crowd into gear in readiness for headliners, INvane. Watching INvane jump on stage, I was confronted with their laid back charm […]
Subdued kicked off a busy Friday night at The Joiners with great success. They clearly had a talented vocalist who really made the performance with a voice stretching from harmonious to anger; and not unlike Jack Black. With confidence from the bassist to dedicate a song to his girlfriend (and deal with the cringe-worthy reaction), […]
Like a more chilled-out The Rakes, Portsmouth based four-piece The Ridgeway opened the night with a tight and varied mix of melodic rock songs. Confidently possessing the stage, they embodied the stylish rock-star persona and musically came across as really nice – to the extent that even their angry songs sounded just mildly peeved. ‘Hold […]
The intense humidity and the sweltering St Mary’s evening heat was intense. It was not, however, enough to put off Southampton’s rock lovers from turning out in force. Ahead of them was an evening of diverse entertainment from four bands with very different styles, headlined by local heroes Rat Daddy. Proceedings were enjoyably kicked off […]
On a muggy Monday night when the beer’s served in cardboard cups and the venue’s packed before nightfall, you know you’re in for a treat. First onto the stage at The Joiner’s were The Social, nonchalantly ambling straight into their Bravery-inspired set with little introduction. Complete with slicked back hair, black jacket, and crisp white […]
Decomposing Joey kicked off a busy Saturday night at The Joiners. The Southampton based punk-funk four-piece belted out a high-tempo hard-hitting sound, all backed by some solid drums and bass. The guitar managed to produce some excellent riffs that helped set the pace for the evening. Unfortunately, the heaviness of the music was somewhat let […]
Tonight The Joiners was all about writhing, swearing, and reluctant audience participation. With the stage in darkness, Southampton four-piece Sarah Jane Smith launched straight in with heavy guitars, loud drums, and barely audible shouted lyrics. Looking a bit like a foreign band, possibly German, SJS’s mid-song references to current affairs went down like the C-word […]
A few wrong turns in St Mary’s meant that, as well as confirming my total lack of direction, I was now late for the start of the gig at The Joiners. However, after a few Italian Job style manoeuvres, I busted through the front door just in time to catch the final few songs from […]
Warming up the busy Wednesday night Joiners’ crowd were Zero Consent, the first of three ska-punk bands, complete with small army of young, mosh-pit fearless fans. Dressed in a Blue Peter style bin liner dress, the lead singer wasted no time in enticing the crowd up to the front, where they dutifully followed instructions to […]
The Bullycats are a five-piece rock band from Winchester who’ve been playing their Kings of Leon-esque country/rock locally for a couple of years. Their instant appeal can be attributed to the vocalist’s stunning gravely twang and stylishly clumsy dance moves. His country and western voice sounds like it’s generated by a night on Jack Daniels […]
Faceful of Flames attracted a reasonable crowd for a wet Tuesday night and were obviously at ease on stage with plenty of playful chit-chat before songs, after songs, and when they didn’t know which song to play. The music was a heavy rock ‘n’ roll with a pace that was slow enough to add a […]
It must have been a hard week, as the crowd were a lacklustre bunch on this Thursday night. The lethargy continued despite excellent renditions of songs that are now becoming Rival Jousta classics, such as ‘Clarity’, and a brace of outstanding new compositions. The front man had plenty to say between the songs, which all […]
Following on from shows in London, Bristol, and St Albans, Bushbaby landed in Southampton to play The Joiners. Starting their set with a new take on their latest official single, ‘Tinsel Town’, Bushbaby once again managed to impress both the hardened fans and the people who haven’t yet seen them live. They followed up on […]
Tonight’s gig at The Joiners, Southampton, was a demonstration of how originality can sometimes be less important than quality. In fact, that statement could even be a little unfair as there was some innovation on show… But the point is, the quality was the factor that shone through on this occasion. ‘Odd One Out’ were […]